The old man who appeared beside Arlo Drake was none other than the first Elder Silver Flame of the Black Tortoise, ’Maximus Lee’, who was also Arlo’s master. At first, the reason he was willing to take Arlo as his apprentice was because Arlo promised to let his cousin, a Martial Dao genius endowed with a ’blue spiritual root’, join his ranks as well. In essence, it was out of respect for Arlo’s cousin that he accepted Arlo as his apprentice. Today, after receiving the report from Elder Copper Flame notifying of Arlo’s cousin’s arrival at the Fire Worship Sect, at the Black Tortoise, Maximus was very pleased, eagerly waiting for Arlo’s cousin to visit him after catching up with Arlo to perform the ’apprentice ceremony’. Who would have thought, instead of the expected arrival of a person, he would receive astonishing news. Arlo’s cousin ’Long Drake’ disregarded the sect’s rules and attacked Wyatt Barnes at the Black Tortoise disciple’s residence, intending to kill Wyatt. Upon hearing this news, Maximus was shocked, but he was not worried. Long Drake, despite everything, was a Martial Dao genius with ’blue spiritual root’, and even if he killed Wyatt within the Fire Worship Sect, he would only face some symbolic punishment at most. Wyatt Barnes, with a mere ’yellow spiritual root’, was far less valuable than Long Drake! Of course, in terms of value to the Fire Worship Sect, Maximus as an ’Elder Silver Flame’ was undoubtedly higher than Long Drake. However, because he was an ’Elder Silver Flame’, representing the sect, he could not act as recklessly against the sect’s disciples like Long Drake could... Otherwise, the loss of the sect’s reputation could not be compensated by the life and death of a mere ’Elder Silver Flame’! For this reason, although he was the ’Elder Silver Flame’ of the Fire Worship Sect, Maximus dared not easily attack Wyatt Barnes. Otherwise, Wyatt would have been dead by his hands already and would not have survived until now. Yet, despite not worrying about Long Drake’s safety, Maximus came personally for the sake of caution... With his presence, another ’Elder Silver Flame’ responsible for law enforcement at the Black Tortoise would naturally be wary, thereby treating Long Drake, who killed Wyatt, kindly. Throughout, he never doubted whether Long Drake could kill Wyatt Barnes. In his view, it was a matter of no suspense! Arlo had long told him, Long Drake was a ’Martial Artist at the pinnacle of the Earth Saint Realm’—killing a ’Martial Artist at the initial stage of the Earth Saint Realm’ was as easy as killing a chicken or cutting grass, wasn’t it? "Dead... actually dead..." Maximus never expected that after arriving at the Black Tortoise disciple’s residence, he wouldn’t see the expected corpse of Wyatt Barnes, but instead the corpse of ’Long Drake’, who was about to become his personal apprentice. Long Drake was a Martial Dao genius endowed with a ’blue spiritual root’. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁 Because of this, even though he had never met Long Drake before, in Maximus’s heart, Long Drake’s ’importance’ had already far exceeded that of Arlo! Precisely because of this, his heart was full of anger. A personal apprentice with a ’blue spiritual root’ disappeared just like that, killed! "Wyatt Barnes, how dare you, recklessly slaughtering your fellow disciples!" In the next moment, Maximus’s eyes flashed with cold light as he roared, then he raised his head, his gaze sinisterly fixed on Wyatt Barnes standing in the distance in mid-air. At this moment, he once again wished he could tear Wyatt limb from limb! Yet, he couldn’t act recklessly. Now, Wyatt Barnes was already a disciple of the Black Tortoise, a disciple of the Fire Worship Sect, even if the charges of slaughtering fellow disciples were confirmed, only the sect’s Law Enforcement Elder could punish him. Though Maximus was the first Elder Silver Flame of the Black Tortoise, he didn’t have that authority! However, this did not mean he couldn’t speak out to assert Wyatt Barnes’s guilt. "Slaying fellow disciples?" Upon hearing Maximus’s words, Wyatt Barnes was first taken aback, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter, as if he had heard a great joke. "Why are you laughing?!" Maximus’s expression sank, his eyes flashing with killing intent, ready to devour. "I laugh at someone, dignified as an ’Elder Silver Flame’, who can still brazenly speak lies!" After quieting his laughter, Wyatt glanced at Maximus indifferently, his face showing mocking laughter as he spoke. Of course, Maximus knew that Wyatt Barnes was speaking about him, yet Wyatt didn’t name him directly, leaving Maximus furious and infuriated without any avenue to vent. If Wyatt Barnes had named him, he could have accused him of disrespecting an Elder Silver Flame and given Wyatt a lesson. Even if he couldn’t kill Wyatt, he could at least vent his anger. But Wyatt seemed to know his intentions, leaving him no chance at all! "What happened today, all the senior brothers and sisters present are my witnesses..." Meanwhile, Wyatt Barnes glanced at another Elder Silver Flame standing in the distance, then surveyed the surroundings, speaking loudly with dignity and respect: "I, Wyatt Barnes, killed Long Drake only because he first made a move to kill me... According to sect rules, under such circumstances, even if I counter-killed him, I am not guilty!" "However, as a compassionate person, I initially didn’t intend to kill Long Drake even though he wanted to kill me... Until he acted indiscriminately, killing more than a dozen fellow disciples, senior brothers, and sisters, it was only then, unable to suppress the anger in my heart, that I counter-killed him! It’s considered revenge for those senior brothers and sisters." Wyatt’s speech was righteous and stern. "He killed more than a dozen fellow disciples?" Hearing Wyatt Barnes’ words, the Elder Silver Flame who had come alongside Maximus Lee to the Black Tortoise residence, couldn’t help but change his expression. In the next moment, he looked at the corpse of Long Drake lying on the ground, his eyes suddenly shooting out a chilling, fierce glare, as if he wished he could whip Long Drake’s body. "Elder Clifford, don’t listen to his nonsense!" Maximus Lee timely shouted in a low voice. The Elder Silver Flame who appeared with Maximus Lee at the Black Tortoise residence was none other than the Elder Silver Flame ’Abraham Clifford’ responsible for law enforcement at the Black Tortoise. Abraham Clifford, besides being the ’Law Enforcement Elder’ of the Black Tortoise, was also the Silver Flame Elder with strength second only to Maximus Lee in the Black Tortoise! However, because of his status as a Law Enforcement Elder, even Maximus Lee was quite wary of him. Moreover, if they really fought, even if Maximus Lee could defeat him, he would definitely have to pay a huge price. "Elder Maximus, do you take me for a fool? Whether he’s talking nonsense or not, with so many people present, I will judge fairly!" Abraham Clifford coldly glanced at Maximus Lee and said indifferently. The reason Abraham Clifford could become the Law Enforcement Elder of the Black Tortoise was, if nothing else, never being questioned on his ’fairness’. His law enforcement has always been based on evidence, never wronging the innocent, and never letting the guilty go! Soon, Abraham Clifford learned the whole story of today’s events from the group of Black Tortoise disciples present. Immediately, his face turned gloomy. A dozen or so Black Tortoise disciples were just killed like that! If this matter spread, where could he put the face of the Black Tortoise Law Enforcement Elder? Finally, as the Law Enforcement Elder of the Black Tortoise, Abraham Clifford made the final judgment: "Long Drake, the first to attack his fellow disciples and cruelly kill seventeen of them, deserved to die!" "Wyatt Barnes, acting in passive self-defense, is innocent! Given that Wyatt Barnes killed Long Drake just after he slaughtered seventeen fellow disciples, preventing him from further massacring others... not only is he innocent, but he also merits recognition!" "In our Black Tortoise, and throughout the Fire Worship Sect, we emphasize: the guilty must be punished, and the meritorious must be rewarded. As for the specific reward for Wyatt Barnes, I shall report it to the Leader, who will decide." Abraham Clifford’s judgment was simple and direct: Long Drake, deserved his death! Wyatt Barnes, praised for his deeds, not at fault! Upon hearing Abraham Clifford’s judgment, the Black Tortoise disciples present subconsciously glanced at Wyatt Barnes, their eyes revealing envy. The rewards from the Leader are by no means simple! Though Maximus Lee was dissatisfied with Abraham Clifford’s judgment, he had no grounds to refute it and could only stand at a distance, stifling his resentment. "Elder Clifford, I refuse to accept this!" At this moment, Arlo Drake stood up, looked at Abraham Clifford, and said unwillingly: "My brother did not intentionally massacre those fellow disciples. It happened during his conflict with Wyatt Barnes, and he accidentally killed them. Even if he hadn’t died afterwards, it was impossible for him to continue killing his comrades... As for Elder Clifford’s judgment that my brother deserved to die, I’ll accept it! But I do not agree that Wyatt Barnes deserves any merit!!" Though he had long realized Wyatt Barnes was justified and would not be punished. But when Arlo Drake heard Wyatt Barnes had merit and would receive a reward from the Leader, his eyes turned red with envy, and he spoke out his discontent in time. It was all just to get Abraham Clifford to cancel the promise of a reward to Wyatt Barnes! "If you hadn’t spoken up, I might have almost forgotten about you!" Just as Arlo Drake hoped, Abraham Clifford’s gaze fell upon him, and his eyes grew cold. "Elder Clifford, what do you mean by this?" Arlo Drake’s face changed, "I... I don’t seem to have violated sect rules, right?" "Are you sure you haven’t violated sect rules?" Abraham Clifford said with a face full of mockery: "Then, let me ask you... Why did Long Drake attack Wyatt Barnes? Do you dare to swear by ’Thunder Punishment Oath’ that you didn’t incite him? If you dare to swear, I will not trouble you today." Upon hearing this, Arlo Drake’s face changed again, and a look of terror flashed in his eyes. In the next moment, he looked at Maximus Lee not far from him and transmitted, "Master, save me!" However, upon hearing Arlo Drake’s plea, Maximus Lee only gave him an indifferent glance, then instantly disappeared from sight. As he left, Maximus Lee’s voice came coldly, without any emotion, "Arlo Drake, for violating sect rules, from today on, you are no longer my disciple!" With one very short sentence, he severed his mentor-disciple relationship with Arlo Drake. For Maximus Lee, with Long Drake gone, Arlo Drake as a disciple had no value, and now having an opportunity to cut ties with Arlo Drake, he naturally wouldn’t miss it. "No! Master, you can’t do this! You can’t do this!!" Hearing this, Arlo Drake’s face turned utterly pale, and he attempted to chase after Maximus Lee. With a cold snort from Abraham Clifford, without any visible action, Arlo Drake’s advancing body trembled and was blasted backwards.